basilicas
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St. Peter's Basilica
Vatican City
St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the world headquarters of Roman Catholicism and one of the largest churches in the world. Founded by Constantine the Great in 324, it stands over the tomb of Saint Peter the Apostle.
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Basilica dei Santi Vitale e Agricola
Bologna, Italy
4th cent.
Originally built in the 4th century to house the relics of the city's first two martyrs, Vitale and Agricola, this is the oldest church in Bologna and part of the Santo Stefano complex.
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Basilica di Santo Stefano
Bologna, Italy
5th-12th cent.
Santo Stefano is a monastic complex of four Romanesque churches (11-13C) built on the site of a pagan temple to Isis and incorporating earlier churches dating back to the 4th century. There is also a medieval cloister and small museum.
- Basilica di San Domenico Bologna, Italy 1251
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Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
Rome, Italy
early 8th cent.
Although best known for the “Mouth of Truth” in its porch, Santa Maria in Cosmedin is one of the most interesting churches in Rome, with an atmosphere of antiquity and some important early medieval art.
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Church of All Nations (Basilica of the Agony)
Jerusalem, Israel
Funded by several nations and completed in 1924, this basilica stands over the traditional site where Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal.
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Basilica di San Francesco
Assisi, Italy
1228-53
Housing the tomb of St. Francis and filled with spectacular medieval frescoes by Giotto, this church is Assisi's crowning glory. It is a major place of pilgrimage for St. Francis devotees and art lovers alike.
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Basilica of St. Mark
Venice, Italy
A Byzantine wonder that looks more like Istanbul than Italy, the 11th-century Basilica di San Marco is covered in domes, lined with golden mosaics, and filled with ancient art treasures.
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Basilica of the Annunciation
Nazareth, Israel
1969
Completed in 1969, this Catholic basilica stands on the traditional site where the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would bear the Savior. It is built over Crusader and Byzantine foundations.
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Basilica of St. Sergius
Resafa, Syria
431
Now an isolated ruin, this 5th-century Byzantine church was dedicated to the famous St. Sergius, a Roman soldier martyred c.303. The church was a major pilgrimage site in the Byzantine era.
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L'Oratoire Saint-Joseph
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
1955
This great basilica with a giant copper dome was built in honor of St. Joseph, the patron saint of Canada.
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Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine
Rome, Italy
Begun under Maxentius around 307 and completed by Constantine, this is one of the largest structures ever built by the Romans. Michelangelo is said to have studied it before designing the dome of St. Peter's.